NSPCC’s call for law change over sex messages – BBC News
‘Campaigners want it to be made illegal for adults to send sexual messages to children.’
BBC News, 24th October 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: telecommunications
Police ‘use loophole’ to access phone and email records – Daily Telegraph
‘Police forces have used a loophole to access phone and email records, it has been claimed.’
Daily Telegraph, 20th October 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
David Walliams settles phone-hacking damages claim – The Guardian
‘Actor and comedian David Walliams has settled his phone-hacking damages claim. Walliams, who is best known for the sketch show Little Britain but is also an author and a trustee of Comic Relief, accepted substantial undisclosed damages and his legal costs from News Group Newspapers, publisher of the now-defunct News of the World.’
The Guardian, 16th October 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Home Office told to disclose advice behind decision on intercept evidence – The Guardian
‘The Home Office has been ordered to release secret legal advice justifying its decision to prevent intercept evidence being used in criminal trials. The ruling by an information tribunal could shine a light on the way intelligence agencies gather and store material as well as on their relationship with law enforcement organisations. The appeal for the advice to be disclosed was made by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law which submitted a Freedom of Information request to uncover the reasoning behind a 2009 report, entitled “Intercept as Evidence”.’
The Guardian, 16th October 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Phone hacking: Rebekah Brooks’s husband loses £600,000 costs claim – The Guardian
‘Rebekah Brooks’s husband Charlie has lost his bid to recover the £600,000 in legal fees he incurred as a result of being a co-defendant in the phone-hacking trial.’
The Guardian, 15th October 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ripa: Curbs on police hacking journalist phones to find story sources – Daily Telegraph
‘Police will be banned from accessing reporter phone logs under the powers of Ripa unless they can show it is for serious crime.’
Daily Telegraph, 12th October 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Hoax child death caller jailed – The Guardian
‘A hoax caller who phoned families at random and claimed their relatives had died has been jailed for four months.’
The Guardian, 23rd September 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
EastEnders star Steve McFadden settles News of the World damages claim – The Guardian
‘Steve McFadden, the actor who plays Phil Mitchell in EastEnders, has settled his damages claim against the News of the World and the police over hacking and leaks about his private life to the paper.’
The Guardian, 16th September 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
ICO needs to rethink how to tackle mobile apps privacy failings, says expert – OUT-LAW.com
‘The UK’s data protection authority needs to rethink its strategy for combatting failings in mobile apps privacy, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 12th September 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Andy Coulson eligible for move from Belmarsh prison – The Guardian
‘Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s former director of communications, looks set to be moved from high-security Belmarsh prison after finally being classified as posing no risk to society.’
The Guardian, 14th August 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ben Ashford found not guilty after trawling stolen phone for ‘flirty’ texts – The Guardian
‘A former Sun journalist has walked free from the Old Bailey after he was cleared of all charges levelled against him after he looked through the contents of an iPhone that did not belong to him.’
The Guardian, 13th August 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
News International lawyers face tribunal over alleged hacking coverup – The Guardian
‘Two lawyers working for News International at the height of the phone hacking scandal are being prosecuted by the legal profession’s regulator for allegedly seeking to cover up the scale of criminality at the News of the World.’
The Guardian, 9th August 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
UK government to assess whether virtual currencies should be regulated – OUT-LAW.com
‘The UK government is to review the trade in virtual currencies to investigate whether it should regulated.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th August 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
DRIP – Data Retention Regulations come into force – Panopticon
‘The introduction of the controversial draft Data Retention Regulations 2014 has already been discussed by my colleague Robin Hopkins in his excellent post last month. The Regulations now have the force of law, having come into force on 31 July 2014 – see the Regulations here. In his post, Robin made the point that, following the judgment in Digital Rights Ireland, there were two methods for curtailing the infringement of privacy rights presupposed by the existing communications data retention (CDR) regime: either cut back on the data retention requirements provided for under the legislation, so as generally to limit the potential for interference with privacy rights, or introduce more robust safeguards with a view to ensuring that any interference with privacy rights is proportionate and otherwise justified. The Government, which has evidently opted for the latter approach in the new Regulations, will now need to persuade a somewhat sceptical public that the safeguards which have been adopted in the legislation strike the right balance as between the protection of privacy rights on the one hand and the imperative to support criminal law enforcement functions on the other.’
Panopticon, 5th August 2014
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Two men convicted for possessing extreme ‘WhatsApp porn’ that wasn’t viewed – The Independent
‘Two men have been convicted for having “truly disgusting” pornographic images on their mobile phones, sent to them through the WhatsApp messaging service, though one claimed he didn’t watch what he was sent.’
The Independent, 4th August 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The death of privacy – The Guardian
‘Google knows what you’re looking for. Facebook knows what you like. Sharing is the norm, and secrecy is out. But what is the psychological and cultural fallout from the end of privacy?’
The Guardian, 3rd August 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Six years for woman who texted on two phones before fatal crash – The Independent
‘A judge condemned motorists who use mobiles while driving as a “plague on society” as he jailed a woman who caused a fatal pile-up after texting and taking calls on two phones while travelling at 70mph.’
The Independent, 31st July 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Driver jailed for killing a man while using two mobiles – The Guardian
‘A driver who killed a man while using two mobile phones behind the wheel has been jailed by a judge who branded such crimes “a plague on society”.’
The Guardian, 31st July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Watchdog ‘desperate’ for ministers to crack down on nuisance calls and spam texts – Daily Telegraph
‘Victims of spam message companies could find it easier to win compensation under plans backed by the Information Commissioner’s Office’
Daily Telegraph, 29th July 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
